By Bhanvi Satija

July 18 (Reuters) - A close copy version of Abbvie's ( ABBV )

blockbuster arthritis drug Humira will be available at

a 92% discount to its list price on the GoodRx ( GDRX ) website, the

digital healthcare platform and German drugmaker Boehringer

Ingelheim said on Thursday.

GoodRx ( GDRX ) said that Boehringer will offer both high- and low-

concentration versions of the biosimilar at an exclusive cost of

$550 per two-pack on the GoodRx ( GDRX ) website.

Humira, which lists for almost $7,000 a month, is the first

top-selling drug to compete with a slew of biosimilars, which

are close but not exact copies of branded biologic medicines.

U.S. residents with a valid prescription, regardless of

their insurance status, can buy the drug at that price using a

coupon on the GoodRx ( GDRX ) website.

"We also find that healthcare providers are one of our

biggest referral sources...So doctors themselves, once they know

that there's a cash option...they will tell their patients to

check GoodRx ( GDRX )," said GoodRx ( GDRX ) Chief Commercial Officer Dorothy

Gemmel.

Boehringer launched its biosimilar, or a close copy, of

Humira last July. Despite nine biosimilars being launched in the

U.S. last year, AbbVie's ( ABBV ) Humira has held onto most of its

patients.

"They (biosimilars) are meant to help improve

affordability and access. And the penetration has been very,

very slow," said Gemmel.

Drug pricing experts have noted that pharmacy benefit

managers, the industry middlemen, have provided little incentive

for doctors to switch to Humira alternatives since the launch of

the biosimilars last year.

About 2,500 prescriptions for Boehringer's Cyltezo were

filled in May, compared to over 600,000 prescriptions for

Abbvie's ( ABBV ) Humira, according to data from IQVIA.